


maybe tomorrow

by Cosmos_the_Flora



Category: Evillious Chronicles
Genre: Gen, honestly i wrote this for me but you can read it too, in which two idiots need to sleep, let elluka and mariam talk about their trauma, let them be happy, possible mariluka?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 17:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmos_the_Flora/pseuds/Cosmos_the_Flora
Summary: [A head maid finds herself unable to sleep. A sorceress contemplates the meaning of bonds. With the moon overhead, two women have a conversation that is drowned in that darkness.]
Relationships: Elluka Clockworker/Mariam Phutapie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	maybe tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> wowza, my first fic. inspired by the fiction ii album song 'maybe tomorrow' and my own appreciation of the three heroes. its a little scattered cause i wasn't really trying, i just wanted to scribble down a conversation

> _the moon is gone, and the night is still so dark_  
>  _i'm a little bit afraid of tomorrow...._

Mariam shuffled around her bedroom in the late night silence. She hadn't yet changed for bed. Memories of her past resurfaced, bubbling over and pouring out. Memories of war, of flimsy alliances and bloodshed took over her mind. This, she decided, would be a night where she would not be sleeping. 

"As long as my work doesn't suffer, I am sure one night awake will be fine. Perhaps I'll take a stroll, attempt to tire myself out." Her whispered words were given no response by the darkness. 

With her plan in mind, Mariam pulled on a warm cloak and took up a tea candle holder. She lit the candle and left her bedroom, quietly making her way down the halls. There wasn't much need for the candle. It was a full moon, and moonlight poured into the halls from the wide windows to the outside world.

The night was almost unnaturally still.

She wanted to assume such was due to the peaceful time in the country. However; Mariam's own anxious mind swarmed with other possibilities. There could be an assassin sneaking around, she thought. Preparing to strike.

When Mariam paused to look out a window, she actually did hear the sound of barely-audible footsteps. Not those of a guard. It sounded like someone trained for war. Mariam spun on her heel with fear and anxiety giving her the strength to face whatever came her way.

What faced her had blue eyes and pink hair, and an infuriating grin. 

"Couldn't sleep, Mari-chan~?" Elluka's voice rang out, despite its near whisper tone. 

"Elluka, for the love of the Gods, learn to announce yourself when you approach me." 

Elluka laughed at her words, and Mariam felt more irritation swell within her. "Come on," the court mage said, "you heard my footsteps. That's announcing myself. I wasn't trying particularly hard to be quiet, after all. Now, what is the great and beautiful Mariam Phutapie doing out of bed after the midnight strike? You're by far the most strict, schedule oriented idiot I know."

With a sigh, Mariam set the candle on the wide windowsill and looked out at the dark gardens beyond the glass. 

"You aren't the only one with sleep issues, Elluka. Don't act so high and mighty when you scarcely wake before twelve." She was almost pleased to see Elluka's strong pout. 

"I work so hard, making salves and ointments for everyone. And this? This is the thanks I get? Mari-chan, you wound me."

Despite herself, Mariam found herself smiling at Elluka's tomfoolery. It was completely normal. Yet, at the same time, it felt.. Almost personal. As if Elluka was trying to cheer her up.

"I keep thinking about the war," Mariam begins as she looks back to the midnight sky, "about what we did. The people we killed. I think about you too, Elluka. Even to this day, I cannot understand why you joined Lucifenia."

Elluka took the spot by Mariam and leaned against the railing. She, too, stared out into the dark distance. 

"Why did you join us? And, please.. No games this time, Elluka."

"You can't let an old lady have her fun?" Elluka smiled brightly, though Mariam could feel that her eyes were somewhere far away. Perhaps on the battlefield, or perhaps somewhere beyond even that.

"I'm a beautiful, immortal mage with enough magic to make humans terrified. People seek me out, asking for aid. They hunt me, demanding blood spilt for what they do not know and fear. For a long time, Mariam.. That is how people viewed me. A mysterious entity to be revered or feared.

"I was untouchable, more or less. Then I joined Beelzenia in the war. And one day, on a battlefield that I should have been able to clear in seconds... I met someone. The most stupid, idiotic, dimwitted man I have known in a long time. A complete idiot! Beyond that, even!" Elluka sighed and tapped the window. 

"A king, who stood on a bloodied field before me. His sword raised, showing his troops that they could fight anyone and anything. And for once in my life, I.. I was moved. This man who stared me down and demanded a fair fight on the warfront had moved me. He had seen me. Not many people actually see me, Mariam."

Mariam watched Elluka as she took a moment. She remembered that day, Arth's big mouth and bigger actions, and the powerful sorceress who declined his battle and simply left the field. A week later, that same mage came walking into camp with Arth.

"Was that really it, Elluka? Somehow, I feel like you are choosing to leave things out." When Mariam asked her question, Elluka gave a wide grin.

"Allow me to keep some secrets, kiddo."

The silver sparrow sighed and looked out the window. "Do you ever think of the battlefield?"

Her smile faltered just a bit, stretching in a way that Mariam had come to understand was fake. "That kind of thing doesn't concern me."

Elluka balked at the heel that smacked into her leg, and she gave a heavy and over exaggerated sigh. "Fine, fine, you abuser! Kick me while I'm down!" With a pout, Elluka began to speak again. 

"Of course I think about it. I think of people who died by my blade, of those I flung off cliffs or into sharp rocks. I remember the snap of their spines or the way they fall like rag dolls. I think about their families. Children, partners, parents, friends. Humans... Have such strong desires to form relationships with each other. But it just hurts you in the end, doesn't it?

"Imagine waiting for your husband, your child, your father. Waiting for them to come back from the war, and only getting a letter of apology instead. How cruel fate is to do such a thing. That's why I have no friends. Why suffer that over and over? I've cried enough for ten life times. I refuse to cry more. So, yes. I think about them. But I distance myself from it as well, otherwise it could control me."

Somehow, Mariam hadn't expected such a... Proper answer. Though Elluka was always one to surprise, regardless of the circumstance. It almost embarrassed her.

"..The moon is pretty, isn't it? You mages like the full moon, right?"

Elluka barked out a laugh and nodded, understanding the polite change of topic. She pointed out at the moon. "Our power is strongest with a full moon. Except in the case of... That." 

Mariam followed her finger's guide to the moon, which had suddenly began to enter its waning phase far too quickly. "That.. Ah, it's a lunar eclipse. How rare... I think this is the second time I've seen one in my life."

"They aren't easy to track, so I'm not surprised. In the case of an eclipse like that, my power flickers out for a short time. It would be troublesome, but I'm usually asleep by the time one happens." Elluka watched the darkness cover the moon, slowly creeping across its white surface.

"Mariam, I..." The world slowly became darker, darker, yet darker still. "Ah.. Thank you. For not killing me when we first met. And for not being a bratty child about me changing sides."

Mariam looked over. Elluka's face was illuminated only by the candle now, a barely there flicker of orange against a pale face and tired eyes. "...Well, I couldn't quite ignore Arth's orders to stand down."

"That's true..." The two looked back out again, at the pitch black world. "You know... I think, despite everything, coming to Lucifenia was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time."

"Is that so?" As she spoke, the darkness began to fade into the moonlit night they had expected. "I think so too."

"How sweet. You need to get to bed, though. Don't you wake up at dawn or something?" When she made a face, Mariam laughed softly.

"An hour beforehand, actually. I wake with the regular servants to prepare for the day."

With that, the two took up the candle and began to make their way down the long hallway.


End file.
